|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Frank Gehry is to architecture as Mark Zuckerberg is to social media: A star. The famous architect, known for award-winning designs described at times as “a collision of parts,” is now gracing Menlo Park with his expertise.
Since his earliest work in the 1960s, Mr. Gehry has designed the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Spain and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. His Santa Monica home, built of corrugated metal and chain link fences blended with a wood frame, has become a tourist attraction.
His partnership with Facebook developed after informal talks gave way to a mutual desire to work together, a Facebook spokesperson said.
Facebook initially planned to put 440,000-square-feet of buildings on its west campus, located on Constitution Drive across the street from the main east campus. But that’s now off the drawing board.
Instead, Mr. Gehry designed one large “room” perched on top of a parking structure and capped by a rooftop garden. The theme of open-ended interior space echoes that of the main campus, where buildings are broken up by conference rooms and niches for small groups.
Facebook lead designer Everett Katigbak said the new design has much in common with the east campus. “It’s better to think of it as a refinement of our current campus (rather) than a separate design altogether,” he said. It will replicate the polished concrete and exposed ceiling beams seen at headquarters, “though it will no doubt have certain touches added by the Gehry team. As of now, the design is too early on to confirm what those will be.”
The project breaks ground next spring, assuming the city’s review of the new design goes smoothly. Covering about 10 acres, the office will house up to 2,800 engineers, according to Facebook. The company declined to disclose the price tag.
“(Mr. Gehry) is famous for his ability to execute on the wishes of his client while keeping his projects within their budget. As such, the costs of the campus should be on par with a typical Silicon Valley campus,” a spokesperson said.
Asked what drivers passing the campus on Bayfront Expressway might notice, Mr. Katigbak said the idea is to avoid a striking design. “We hope that the building will be reflective of the current architecture in the area. … Instead, with the trees along the the rooftop and ground level gardens, we hope the building will almost recede into the background of a forest-like landscape. Though still very early in the design process, we plan for the exterior of the building to be clean and simple.”
Facebook’s director of global real estate, John Tenanes, shared his excitement about the upcoming expansion.
“The new building is reflective of our culture, and we hope it will offer an amazing environment for the engineers who will work there,” he said. “We look forward to working with Frank and his team and anticipate a smooth and timely completion of the project.”
With the stock price in the toilet, should they really be spending money on a famous architect??
Awesome Plan!
Interesting-FB gets MP approval based on one plan, and then switches to another. I guess money talks and BS walks(as well as CQUA). Wonder how emergency first responders will like this new plan. Hey,l but we have a design by a big name architect in MP, so don’t ask any questions.
I think this is pretty cool. Let’s not be cynical.
Kathy – Facebook is still worth $50 billion. Their stock price isn’t so much in the toilet, as it did not rise to extremes of irrational exuberance. They can afford this; and, if you read the article, it’s apparently not more expensive than a comparable conventional campus.
WhoRUpeople – I think Frank Gehry knows how to design to code.
Gehry is an artist but doesn’t care about budget unless the budget is outrageously high. Curved steel beams get expensive.
He recently built a housing tower in Hong Kong for close to $20,000 per square foot. A very high end commercial building with finished interiors would run about $400 per SF here.
Also …Ask MIT about his waterproofing details (or lack of).
Still it is very good for Menlo Park. It should count as public art.
@Sam – well – I was surprised when the article said it would be as cheap as a typical Silicon Valley campus … it’s probably a little pricier than your cookie-cutter glass-and-steel marvel.
I also remember the problem they had with the Disney Concert Hall. Initially, the surface was too shiny, and acting like a solar oven; it was “cooking” condominiums in a neighboring building, raising their temperature by 10-15 degrees. They had to buff down the surface of the concert hall to eliminate the problem.
I’m not worried about that. 🙂
$400/square foot? I doubt it. That’s not much higher than average for your basic home remodel. Speaking of homes, maybe they can add in housing for their employees and take some of the pressure off the city they now call home.
Alan, I’m sure Mr. Gehry knows how to design to code, my concern is whether or not he does. On the surface I see a myriad of issues with this plan, not the lease of which are: emergency vehicle access within code distances, smoke control within the interior spaces, and a complete change to the impact on heritage trees from the initial plan submitted that was studied in the EIR. I could go on, but won’t. I do agree with the editorial that appears in today’s Post regarding the danger of letting a big name slide, however. My personal view is this is a classic “bait and switch” by FB.
WhoRUpeople is right – Gehry and Facebook are going to need to spend a LOT of time with the Fire Marshall in order to get a building permit for this very innovative designs. Building codes and fire regulation represent the current state of the art – Gehry always tries to move beyond the state of the art. It will be interesting to see how innovation and regulation interact on this project.